Self aligned non-volatile memory cells and processes for fabrication

ABSTRACT

A non-volatile memory array has word lines coupled to floating gates, the floating gates having an upper portion that is adapted to provide increased surface area, and thereby, to provide increased coupling to the word lines. Shielding between floating gates is also provided. A first process forms floating gates by etching an upper portion of a polysilicon structure with masking elements in place to shape the floating gate. A second process etches recesses and protrusions in a polysilicon structure prior to etching the structure to form individual floating gates.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to non-volatile flash memory systems,and, more specifically, to the structures of memory cells and arrays ofmemory cells, and to the process of forming them.

BACKGROUND

There are many commercially successful non-volatile memory productsbeing used today, particularly in the form of small form factor cards,which use an array of flash EEPROM (Electrically Erasable andProgrammable Read Only Memory) cells. In one type of architecture, aNAND array, a series of strings of more than two memory cells, such as16 or 32, are connected along with one or more select transistorsbetween individual bit lines and a reference potential to form columnsof cells. Word lines extend across cells within a large number of thesecolumns. An individual cell within a column is read and verified duringprogramming by causing the remaining cells in the string to be overdriven so that the current flowing through a string is dependent uponthe level of charge stored in the addressed cell. An example of a NANDarchitecture array and its operation as part of a memory system is foundin U.S. Pat. No. 6,046,935, which patent is incorporated herein in itsentirety by this reference.

In another type of array having a “split-channel” between source anddrain diffusions, the floating gate of the cell is positioned over oneportion of the channel and the word line (also referred to as a controlgate) is positioned over the other channel portion as well as over thefloating gate. This effectively forms a cell with two transistors inseries, one (the memory transistor) with a combination of the amount ofcharge on the floating gate and the voltage on the word line controllingthe amount of current that can flow through its portion of the channel,and the other (the select transistor) having the word line alone servingas its gate. The word line extends over a row of floating gates.Examples of such cells, their uses in memory systems and methods ofmanufacturing them are given in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,070,032, 5,095,344,5,315,541, 5,343,063, 5,661,053, and 6,281,075, which patents areincorporated herein by this reference.

A modification of this split-channel flash EEPROM cell adds a steeringgate positioned between the floating gate and the word line. Eachsteering gate of an array extends over one column of floating gates,perpendicular to the word line. The effect is to relieve the word linefrom having to perform two functions at the same time when reading orprogramming a selected cell. Those two functions are (1) to serve as agate of a select transistor, thus requiring a proper voltage to turn theselect transistor on and off, and (2) to drive the voltage of thefloating gate to a desired level through an electric field (capacitive)coupling between the word line and the floating gate. It is oftendifficult to perform both of these functions in an optimum manner with asingle voltage. With the addition of the steering gate, the word lineneed only perform function (1), while the added steering gate performsfunction (2). The use of steering gates in a flash EEPROM array isdescribed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,313,421 and 6,222,762, whichpatents are incorporated herein by this reference.

In any of the types of memory cell arrays described above, the floatinggate of a cell is programmed by injecting electrons from the substrateto the floating gate. This is accomplished by having the proper dopingin the channel region and applying the proper voltages to the source,drain and remaining gate(s).

Two techniques for removing charge from floating gates to erase memorycells are used in the three types of memory cell arrays described above.One is to erase to the substrate by applying appropriate voltages to thesource, drain and other gate(s) that cause electrons to tunnel through aportion of a dielectric layer between the floating gate and thesubstrate. The other erase technique is to transfer electrons from thefloating gate to another gate through a tunnel dielectric layerpositioned between them. In the second type of cell described above, athird erase gate is provided for that purpose. In the third type of celldescribed above, which already has three gates because of the use of asteering gate, the floating gate is erased to the word line, without thenecessity to add a fourth gate. Although this latter technique adds backa second function to be performed by the word line, these functions areperformed at different times, thus avoiding the necessity of making acompromise because of the two functions. When either erase technique isutilized, a large number of memory cells are grouped together forsimultaneously erasure, in a “flash.” In one approach, the groupincludes enough memory cells to store the amount of user data stored ina disk sector, namely 512 bytes, plus some overhead data. In anotherapproach, each group contains enough cells to hold several thousandbytes of user data, equal to many disk sectors' worth of data.Multi-block erasure, defect management and other flash EEPROM systemfeatures are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,148, which patent isincorporated herein by this reference.

As in most all integrated circuit applications, the pressure to shrinkthe silicon substrate area required to implement some integrated circuitfunction also exists with flash EEPROM systems. It is continuallydesired to increase the amount of digital data that can be stored in agiven area of a silicon substrate, in order to increase the storagecapacity of a given size memory card and other types of packages, or toboth increase capacity and decrease size. One way to increase thestorage density of data is to store more than one bit of data per memorycell. This is accomplished by dividing a window of a floating gatecharge level voltage range into more than two states. The use of foursuch states allows each cell to store two bits of data, eight statesstores three bits of data per cell, and so on. A multiple state flashEEPROM structure and operation is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,043,940and 5,172,338, which patents are incorporated herein by this reference.

Increased data density can also be achieved by reducing the physicalsize of the memory cells and/or the overall array. Shrinking the size ofintegrated circuits is commonly performed for all types of circuits asprocessing techniques improve over time to permit implementing smallerfeature sizes. But there are usually limits of how far a given circuitlayout can be shrunk in this manner, since there is often at least onefeature that is limited as to how much it can be shrunk, thus limitingthe amount that the overall layout can be shrunk. When this happens,designers will turn to a new or different layout or architecture of thecircuit being implemented in order to reduce the amount of silicon arearequired to perform its functions. The shrinking of the above-describedflash EEPROM integrated circuit systems can reach similar limits.

Another flash EEPROM architecture utilizes a dual floating gate memorycell along with the storage of multiple states on each floating gate. Inthis type of cell, two floating gates are included over its channelbetween source and drain diffusions with a select transistor in betweenthem. A steering gate is included along each column of floating gatesand a word line is provided thereover along each row of floating gates.When accessing a given floating gate for reading or programming, thesteering gate over the other floating gate of the cell containing thefloating gate of interest is raised sufficiently high to turn on thechannel under the other floating gate no matter what charge level existson it. This effectively eliminates the other floating gate as a factorin reading or programming the floating gate of interest in the samememory cell. For example, the amount of current flowing through thecell, which can be used to read its state, is then a function of theamount of charge on the floating gate of interest but not of the otherfloating gate in the same cell. Examples of this cell array architectureand operating techniques are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,712,180,6,103,573 and 6,151,248, which patents are expressly incorporated hereinin their entirety by this reference.

In these and other types of non-volatile memories, the amount of fieldcoupling between the floating gates and the control gates passing overthem is carefully controlled. The amount of coupling determines thepercentage of a voltage placed on the control gate that is coupled toits floating gates. The percentage coupling is determined by a number offactors including the amount of surface area of the floating gate thatoverlaps a surface of the control gate. It is often desired to maximizethe percentage coupling between the floating and control gates bymaximizing the amount of overlapping area. One approach to increasingcoupling area is described by Yuan et al in U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,063,which patent is incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference.The approach described in that patent is to make the floating gatesthicker than usual to provide large vertical surfaces that may becoupled with the control gates. The approach described in that patentapplication is to increase coupling between the floating and controlgates by adding a vertical projection to the floating gate.

When increasing the vertical coupling areas between adjacent floatingand control gates, it is further desirable to do so in a manner thatdoes not increase the area of the substrate that is occupied by eachcell. Also, it is preferable to reduce the floating gate to floatinggate capacitance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method of forming a non-volatile memory array that has floating gatescoupled to control gates, in which the floating gates and control gateshave a high coupling ratio and are self aligned, is disclosed.Polysilicon strips are formed between STI regions and are covered withdummy word lines. Polysilicon strips are then etched into separatefloating gate structures using the dummy word lines as a masking layer.Dummy word lines are then used to form a second patterned layer having apattern that is the inverse of the dummy word line pattern and the dummyword lines are removed. Sidewall spacers are formed on the sides ofportions of the second patterned layer and masking portions are grownbetween sidewall spacers. Thus, masking elements are grown over portionsof the floating gate structures without requiring alignment. Maskingelements are then used to mask portions of the floating gate structuresduring a polysilicon etch. Floating gate structures are etched toprovide an inverted-T shaped floating gate. The upper portion of thefloating gate is narrowed in the bit line direction but remains the samein the word line direction. A dielectric layer is deposited over thefloating gates. A control gate may then be deposited over the floatinggates and may surround the upper portion of the floating gate on foursides and on top and may also overlie the lower portion of the floatinggate. This provides a large surface area coupling the control gate andthe floating gate. The word line also partially encloses the floatinggate and thus reduces electrical coupling between adjacent floatinggates. The location of the control gate may be determined by the secondpatterned layer and is thus self-aligned to the floating gates.

In a second embodiment, a floating gate is formed that is L-shaped incross section and a control gate is formed in the same step that formsthe floating gate so that the two structures are self-aligned.Polysilicon strips are formed as in the first embodiment. Then, a wordline mask is used to partially etch portions of the polysilicon strips.Polysilicon strips are not etched through but rather are etched toproduce a series of recesses and protrusions. A dielectric layer is thendeposited over the patterned strips and another polysilicon layer isdeposited over the dielectric layer. A word line mask is then used topattern both the polysilicon layer and the polysilicon strips. Thepolysilicon layer is etched to form word lines. The polysilicon stripsare etched to form floating gates. The word line mask is positioned sothat each floating gate has a portion of a recess and a portion of aprotrusion. This provides a large area for electrical coupling betweenthe floating gate and the word line. It also provides shielding betweenadjacent floating gates.

Additional aspects, advantages and features of the present invention areincluded in the following description of these detailed examples, whichdescription should be taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates in block diagram form a flash EEPROM system in whichthe various aspects of the present invention may be implemented.

FIG. 2(A) is a plan view of a floating gate memory cell according to afirst embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2(B) illustrates a floating gate of the array of FIG. 2(A).

FIG. 3(A) shows a cross-section of the array of FIG. 2(A) along II-II atan intermediate stage of fabrication after polysilicon deposition.

FIG. 3(B) shows a cross-section of the array of FIG. 2(A) along I-I atthe same stage of fabrication as 3(A).

FIG. 4(A) shows the same view as in FIG. 3(A) after deposition and etchof silicon nitride.

FIG. 4(B) shows the same view as in FIG. 3(B) after deposition and etchof silicon nitride.

FIG. 5(A) shows the same view as in FIG. 4(A) after deposition ofsilicon dioxide and removal of silicon nitride.

FIG. 5(B) shows the same view as in FIG. 4(B) after deposition ofsilicon dioxide and removal of silicon nitride.

FIG. 6(A) shows the same view as in FIG. 5(A) after formation of nitridespacers and oxide portions.

FIG. 6(B) shows the same view as in FIG. 5(B) after formation of nitridespacers and oxide portions.

FIG. 7(A) shows the same view as in FIG. 6(A) after etching ofpolysilicon and removal of oxide portions.

FIG. 7(B) shows the same view as in FIG. 6(B) after etching ofpolysilicon and removal of oxide portions.

FIG. 8(A) shows the same view as in FIG. 7(A) after deposition ofinterpoly dielectric.

FIG. 8(B) shows the same view as in FIG. 7(B) after deposition ofinterpoly dielectric.

FIG. 9(A) shows the same view as in FIG. 8(A) after deposition of apolysilicon control gate layer.

FIG. 9(B) shows the same view as in FIG. 8(B) after deposition of apolysilicon control gate layer.

FIG. 10(A) shows a plan view of a floating gate memory cell arrayaccording to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10(B) shows a floating gate of FIG. 10(A)

FIG. 11(A) shows a cross-section of the memory array of FIG. 10(A) at anintermediate stage of fabrication.

FIG. 11(B) shows a cross-section of the memory array of FIG. 11(A) alonga plane that is perpendicular to that shown in FIG. 11(A).

FIG. 12(A) shows the same view as FIG. 11(A) after patterning andetching of polysilicon.

FIG. 12(B) shows the same view as FIG. 11(B) after patterning andetching of polysilicon.

FIG. 13(A) shows the same view as in FIG. 12(A) after deposition of anONO layer, polysilicon layer and WSi layer.

FIG. 13(B) shows the same view as in FIG. 12(B) after deposition of anONO layer, polysilicon layer and WSi layer.

FIG. 14(A) shows the same view as in FIG. 13(A) after etching to formword lines.

FIG. 14(B) shows the same view as in FIG. 13(B) after etching to formword lines.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

An example of a memory system 100 incorporating the various aspects ofthe present invention is generally illustrated in the block diagram ofFIG. 1. A large number of individually addressable memory cells arearranged in a regular array 110 of rows and columns, although otherphysical arrangements of cells are certainly possible. Bit lines,designated herein to extend along columns of the array 110 of cells, areelectrically connected with a bit line decoder and driver circuit 130through lines 150. Word lines, which are designated in this descriptionto extend along rows of the array 110 of cells, are electricallyconnected through lines 170 to a word line decoder and driver circuit190. Each of the decoders 130 and 190 receives memory cell addressesover a bus 160 from a memory controller 180. The decoder and drivingcircuits are also connected to the controller 180 over respectivecontrol and status signal lines 135 and 195.

The controller 180 is connectable through lines 140 to a host device(not shown). The host may be a personal computer, notebook computer,digital camera, audio player, various other hand held electronicdevices, and the like. The memory system 100 of FIG. 1 will commonly beimplemented in a card according to one of several existing physical andelectrical standards, such as one from the PCMCIA, the CompactFlash™Association, the MMC™ Association, and others. When in a card format,the lines 140 terminate in a connector on the card that interfaces witha complementary connector of the host device. The electrical interfaceof many cards follows the ATA standard, wherein the memory systemappears to the host as if it was a magnetic disk drive. Other memorycard interface standards also exist. As an alternative to the cardformat, a memory system of the type shown in FIG. 1 may be permanentlyembedded in the host device.

The decoder and driver circuits 130 and 190 generate appropriatevoltages in their respective lines of the array 110, as addressed overthe bus 160, according to control signals in respective control andstatus lines 135 and 195, to execute programming, reading and erasingfunctions. Any status signals, including voltage levels and other arrayparameters, are provided by the array 110 to the controller 180 over thesame control and status lines 135 and 195. A plurality of senseamplifiers within the circuit 130 receive current or voltage levels thatare indicative of the states of addressed memory cells within the array110, and provides the controller 180 with information about those statesover lines 145 during a read operation. A large number of senseamplifiers are usually used in order to be able to read the states of alarge number of memory cells in parallel. During reading and programoperations, one row of cells is typically addressed at a time throughthe circuits 190 for accessing a number of cells in the addressed rowthat are selected by the circuit 130. During an erase operation, allcells in each of many rows are typically addressed together as a blockfor simultaneous erasure.

A plan view of an example of a NAND memory cell array 110 formed on asilicon substrate is shown in FIG. 2(A), wherein a small part of itsrepetitive structure of conductive elements is illustrated with littledetail of dielectric layers that exist between the elements, for clarityof explanation. Shallow Trench Isolation (STI) regions 210 are formedextending through the surface of the substrate. In order to provide aconvention for this description, the STI regions are shown to be spacedapart in a first x-direction, with lengths extending in a secondy-direction, these first and second directions being essentiallyorthogonal with each other.

Between the STI regions 210, there are strings 220 of memory cellsrunning in the y-direction. Thus, the direction of the strings isparallel to the direction of the STI regions. Each string 220 includesmany memory devices connected in series. FIG. 2(A) shows portions ofthree such strings 220 with three memory cells shown for each string.However, strings 220 contain additional cells that are not shown in FIG.2(A). Also, the array 110 contains additional strings that are notrepresented in FIG. 2(A). This type of array may have thousands ofstrings with 16, 32 or more cells in each string.

Each memory cell includes a floating gate 230 and conductivesource/drain regions 240 in the substrate adjacent to the floating gate,on either side in the y-direction. Strings are separated by STI regions210. These STI regions 210 form isolating elements that electricallyisolate source/drain regions 240 from source/drain regions 240 of cellsin adjacent strings. Along the y-direction source/drain regions 240 areshared by adjacent cells. The source/drain regions 240 electricallyconnect one cell to the next cell thus forming a string of cells. Thesource/drain regions 240 in this example are formed by implantingimpurities into the substrate in the required areas.

The floating gates 230 shown in the embodiment of FIG. 2(A) comprise twoportions that can be better seen in FIG. 2(B). A first floating gateportion 231 is formed from a sheet of polysilicon that extends acrossthe surface of the substrate on a thin silicon dioxide (oxide) layer. Afirst floating gate portion 231 is similar to a conventional floatinggate. The second floating gate portion 232 projects upward from theupper surface 233 of the first floating gate portion 231. In the exampleshown in FIG. 2(B) the second floating gate portion 232 is a sheet ofmaterial that intersects the first floating gate portion 231 at rightangles. The second floating gate portion 232 extends to the edges of thefirst floating gate portion 231 in the x-direction but is much narrowerin the y-direction. Thus, it leaves some of the upper surface 233 of thefirst floating gate portion 231 exposed.

The first and second floating gate portions 231, 232 of this embodimentare both made of doped polysilicon. Polysilicon could also be depositedin an undoped form and later implanted to form doped polysilicon. Othersuitable electrically conductive materials may also be used in place ofdoped polysilicon. Polysilicon may also be deposited in a single layerinstead of two separate layers.

Word lines 250 are shown extending across the array in the x-directionin FIG. 2(A). The word lines 250 overlie portions of the floating gates230 and also partially surround the floating gates 230. In theembodiment shown, the word lines 250 overlie the exposed parts of theupper surface 233 of the first floating gate portion 231 and enclose theupper surface and the sides of the second floating gate portion 232. Thesecond floating gate portion 232 adds to the surface area of thefloating gate that couples the floating gate 230 and the control gate.This increased area provides an improved coupling ratio compared to aconventional floating gate. For example, a floating gate 230 of thisembodiment having a first floating gate portion having dimension F inthe x and y-directions may give a 25% increase in the area of couplingbetween the floating gate 230 and the control gate compared to aconventional gate with dimension F in the x and y-directions. This 25%increase in area has been found to result in an 8% increase in couplingratio between the control gate and the floating gate. The dimension F ofthe floating gate 230 is generally the minimum feature size for thephotolithographic process being used. STI regions 210 and word lines 250may also have a width of F. Thus, the size of the memory cell is 4F².However, this is not essential. It will be understood that reduced sizeis generally desirable in devices of this kind but the invention is notlimited to any particular size.

Not shown in FIG. 2(A) are metal conductor layers. Since the polysiliconelements usually have a conductivity that is significantly less thanthat of metal, metal conductors are included in separate layers withconnections made to respective metal lines through any intermediatelayers at periodical intervals along the lengths of the polysiliconelements. Also, the word line may include a metal or metal-silicideportion to increase the electrical conductivity of the word line. Forexample, a refractory metal such as Cobalt or Tungsten may be used toform a silicide layer on top of the polysilicon layer. The silicidematerial has a higher conductivity than the polysilicon and thusimproves electrical conduction along the word line.

FIGS. 3(A) and 3(B) show two orthogonal cross-sections of the array ofFIG. 2(A) at an intermediate state of array fabrication. FIG. 3(A) showsthe view in the y-direction of FIG. 2(A) taken along a section II-II.FIG. 3(B) shows the view in the x-direction, indicated in FIG. 2(A)taken along a section I-I. In FIG. 3(B), the STI regions 210 have beenformed and strips of gate dielectric 310 and polysilicon 320 have beenformed between them. Polysilicon strips 320 are deposited as twopolysilicon layers “Poly 1” 320 a and “Poly 2” 320 b that extend acrossthe upper surface 370 of substrate 350. However, polysilicon strips 320may also be deposited in a single deposition step. In the example shown,poly 1 320 a is approximately 400A thick and poly 2 320 b isapproximately 600A thick. Polysilicon strips 320 are later formed intoindividual floating gate portions. FIG. 3(A) shows a cross-section alongone of polysilicon strips 320. FIG. 3(B) gives a view of the samestructure at the same stage of fabrication but along a perpendiculardirection to that of FIG. 3(A). Three polysilicon strips 320 and the STIregions 210 between them are visible in FIG. 3(B). FIG. 3B shows STIregions after they have been etched back. Initially, STI regions may behigher than shown.

FIGS. 4(A) and 4(B) show the same views as respective FIGS. 3(A) and3(B) after deposition of a masking material, in this exampleapproximately 2000A of silicon nitride (nitride), followed by patterningand etching steps. The first view of FIG. 4(A) shows the separatesilicon nitride portions 410 formed by this step. Also shown are theindividual polysilicon floating gate structures 411 formed by thepatterning and etching process. Polysilicon and silicon nitride areetched in the same pattern so that each polysilicon floating gateportion 411 has a silicon nitride portion 410 covering it. The siliconnitride portions 410 are strips that extend across the substrate in thex-direction. These silicon nitride strips 410 act as dummy word lines asthey are in place of the word lines but are later removed. Thepolysilicon strips 320 that extended in the y-direction in FIG. 3(A)have been etched in FIG. 4(A) so that only the floating gate structures411 covered by the silicon nitride portions 410 remain. The siliconnitride portions 410 serve as a mask layer for the subsequentimplantation step.

During implantation, source/drain regions 240 are created by implantingimpurities into the substrate 350 in the exposed areas. In this example,the only areas that are exposed are the areas between the STI regions210 that are not covered by the first polysilicon portions 411 andsilicon nitride portions 410. Different impurities may be implanteddepending on the electrical characteristics required. For example,Arsenic ions may be used to create a region that is doped to be n+.

After the source/drain regions 240 are implanted, approximately 1500angstroms of silicon dioxide (Oxide) is deposited over the surface ofthe substrate, filling the areas between the silicon nitride portions410 and covering over the silicon nitride portions 410. The excesssilicon dioxide that is deposited over the silicon nitride portions 410is removed. For example, the excess silicon dioxide may be etched by asilicon dioxide spacer etch that stops on the silicon nitride.Alternatively, the excess silicon dioxide may be removed by ChemicalMechanical Polishing (CMP). The result of either etching or CMP is asubstantially planar surface. Silicon dioxide and silicon nitrideportions are both exposed at this surface. The silicon nitride portionsare then removed using, for example, a phosphoric acid (H₃PO₄) strip.This leaves the structure shown in FIG. 5(A).

FIGS. 5(A) and 5(B) show the same views as previous figures after theimplantation step, deposition of silicon dioxide and removal of siliconnitride. The implanted regions 240 extend between floating gatestructures 411 in the y-direction. In the x-direction, they extend tothe STI regions. The silicon dioxide forms a patterned layer comprisingsilicon dioxide portions 520, leaving the polysilicon floating gatestructures 411 exposed. The silicon dioxide portions 520 form trenchesbetween them with the exposed polysilicon floating gate structures 411at the bottom of the trenches. The silicon dioxide patterned layer thusformed is self-aligned to the polysilicon floating gate structures 411because the openings in the patterned layer are determined by theposition of floating gate structures 411.

FIGS. 6(A) and 6(B) show the same views as before after a siliconnitride spacer layer has been deposited and etched back to form thespacers 610 shown on the sides of the silicon dioxide portions 520. Forexample, 500 Angstroms of silicon nitride may be deposited and then asilicon nitride spacer etch could be performed to form an opening in thesilicon nitride that exposes a portion of the top surface 612 offloating gate structures 411. A silicon nitride etch may also removesilicon nitride from the side surfaces 613 of floating gate structure411. Spacers 610 reduce the opening between adjacent silicon dioxideportions 520 to a much narrower gap between spacers 610. An oxidation ordeposition step is performed to produce oxide portions 611. Oxideportions 611 are approximately 100A thick and extend along a portion ofthe top surface 612 and side surfaces 613 of floating gate structures411. After formation of oxide portions 611, nitride spacers 610 may beremoved using a nitride strip with H₃PO₄. This leaves top surface 612and side surfaces 613 of floating gate structure 411 partially exposedwhere spacers 610 have been removed and partially covered by oxideportions 611. Next, a polysilicon etch is performed with oxide portions611 in place on floating gate structure 411. The polysilicon etch may beanisotropic so that etching is primarily in the vertical direction. Thisetches portions of floating gate structure 411 that are not covered byoxide portions 611. Thus, oxide portions 611 act as masking elementsduring the polysilicon etch step.

FIGS. 7(A) and 7(B) show the same views as before after the polysiliconetch step. Polysilicon has been removed from floating gate structures411. FIG. 7A shows material removed down to the level of the uppersurface 733 of the lower portion 731 of floating gate structure 411 (theinterface between Poly 1 and Poly 2). The interface between poly 1 andpoly 2 (at upper surface 733) may determine the extent of etching, forexample, by incorporating an etch-stop layer at this interface.Alternatively, etching may stop at another level. In some examples thereis no interface because there is only one polysilicon layer. Oxideportions 611 have been removed in the view shown in FIG. 7. Typically,oxide portions 611 are removed using dilute, Hydrofluoric Acid (HF)after the etching step is completed. The shape of a floating gatestructure 411 at this point is similar to that of floating gate 230shown in FIG. 2B. Thus, it has a lower portion 731 that extends acrossthe surface of the substrate and an upper portion 732 that extendsupwards from the upper surface 733 of lower portion 731. Upper portion732 is narrower than lower portion 731 in the view of FIG. 7A, that is,in the y-direction.

FIGS. 8(A) and 8(B) show the same views as before after deposition of adielectric layer 810. Dielectric layer 810 may be an ONO layer. Forexample, an ONO layer comprised of 50 Angstroms of silicon dioxide,followed by 80 Angstroms of silicon nitride, followed by 50 Angstroms ofsilicon dioxide may be used. Dielectric layer 810 is deposited to coverall the exposed surfaces shown including the top and sides of silicondioxide portions 520, STI regions 210 and floating gate structures 411.

FIGS. 9(A) and 9(B) shows the same views as before after word lines 910are formed. Word lines 910 include a series of conductive gates 916formed of doped polysilicon in this example. Approximately 1500Angstroms of polysilicon (“poly 3”) is deposited to fill the trenchesbetween silicon dioxide portions 520. The polysilicon of word lines 910may be etched back or subjected to CMP to remove excess polysilicon. Theetch or CMP step removes polysilicon that overlies the silicon dioxideportions 520 and stops upon reaching the silicon dioxide portions 520.Word lines 910 surround the second polysilicon floating gate portions732 from all four sides and from above. Word lines 910 also overlieparts of upper surface 733 of lower portion 731. Word lines 910 formconductive gates 916 over each floating gate. Conductive gates of wordline 910 may be used as control gates for programming and reading thefloating gate. Conductive gates 916 of memory cells in a row areconnected together by the polysilicon word line 910.

The dielectric layer 810 separates the conductive gates 916 fromfloating gate structures 411. Because it lies between these twopolysilicon layers it is often referred to as “interpoly dielectric.”The dielectric layer 810 isolates the control gates and floating gatesfrom direct electrical connection but allows them to be electricallycoupled. Each floating gate structure 411 is electrically isolated fromthe substrate by means of a gate dielectric layer 310, typically silicondioxide. This electrical isolation allows the floating gate structure411 to act as a charge storage unit. The thin gate dielectric layer 310allows charge to enter the floating gate 230 under certain conditions.The presence of charge in the floating gate structure 411 may bedetected by its effect on current flowing between the source/drainregions 240. Levels of charge in the floating gate may correspond tologic levels and thus data may be stored in the cell.

If needed, the word line may be made more conductive by adding a metalor a metal-silicide layer on the polysilicon. This may be done bydepositing a refractory metal then annealing to form a silicide. Forexample, Cobalt (Co) may be deposited on Silicon and then annealed toform Cobalt Silicide (CoSi₂). A silicide layer may also be formed byChemical Vapor Deposition (CVD). For example CVD of Tungsten Silicide(WSi₂) may be performed.

In a second embodiment shown in FIGS. 10-14, an alternative floatinggate structure is formed, using an alternative fabrication method to theone described above with respect to FIGS. 2-9. FIG. 10(A) shows a planview of a memory array according to the second embodiment. This memoryarray is similar to that of the first embodiment but has a differentfloating gate structure and is formed according to a different process.Floating gates 1030 are formed between STI regions 1010, source/drainimplant regions 1040 are formed between adjacent floating gates 1030,thus forming strings 1020 of memory cells. Word lines 1050 are formedrunning perpendicularly to strings 1020 and STI regions 1010.

FIG. 10(B) shows a floating gate 1030 in more detail. Floating gate 1030is comprised of two portions, a first portion 1031 that extends acrossthe surface of a substrate and a second portion 1032 that forms aprojection extending upwards from the upper surface 1033 of the firstportion 1031. Part of upper surface 1033 of first portion 1031 iscovered by second portion 1032 while part of upper surface 1033 isexposed.

FIGS. 11(A) and 11(B) show two orthogonal cross-sections of an array atan intermediate stage of array fabrication. The views in FIGS. 11(A) and11(B) are similar to those of FIGS. 3(A) and 3(B). FIG. 11(A) shows theview in the y-direction of FIG. 10(A) taken along a section II-II. FIG.11(B) shows the view in the x-direction, along I-I in FIG. 10(A). Up tothe point shown in FIG. 11, the process may be the same as that of theembodiment of FIG. 3. In FIG. 11(B), the STI regions 1010 have beenformed and strips of gate dielectric 1111 and polysilicon 1120 have beenformed between STI regions 1010. Polysilicon strips 1120 are depositedas two polysilicon layers “Poly 1” 1120 a and “Poly 2” 1120 b thatextend across the upper surface 1170 of substrate 1150. However,polysilicon strips 1120 may also be deposited in a single depositionstep. In the example shown, “poly 1” 1120 a is approximately 400A thickand “poly 2” 1120 b is approximately 1000A thick. Polysilicon strips1120 are later formed into individual floating gate portions. FIG. 11(A)shows a cross-section along one of polysilicon strips 1120. FIG. 11(B)gives a view of the same structure at the same stage of fabrication butalong a perpendicular direction to that of FIG. 11(A). Three polysiliconstrips 1120 and the STI regions 1010 between them are visible in FIG.11(B). FIG. 11(B) shows STI regions 1010 after they have been etchedback so that there is a 500 Angstrom difference in height between thepolysilicon strips 1120 and the STI regions 1010. Initially, STI regionsmay be higher than shown. A mask may be formed over polysilicon strips1120 so that polysilicon strips 1120 may be etched in a predeterminedpattern. The mask used may extend across the substrate in a directionperpendicular to polysilicon strips 1120 and is similar to a mask usedto form word lines and is thus considered a word line mask.

FIG. 12 shows poly strips 1120 after etching using a word line mask.FIG. 12(A) shows recesses 1260 that are formed by the etching step.Protrusions 1250 remain between recesses 1260. Recesses 1260 are shownextending down to interface 1261 between “poly 1” 1120 a and “poly 2”1120 b. However, recesses may extend to some other level and in someexamples poly strips may be deposited in a single layer so that there isno interface between poly 1 and poly 2. The width of protrusions 1250may be the critical dimension of the patterning process. For example,the width of protrusions 1250 may be 40 nm. The width of recesses 1260may be similar to that of protrusions 1250, for example 50 nm.

FIG. 13 shows the same structure as before after deposition of ONO, wordline poly and word line WSi. ONO layer 1310 is deposited as a blanketlayer that covers exposed polysilicon and STI regions 1010 and conformsto the surface features present. ONO layer 1310 covers the exposedsurfaces, including the horizontal surfaces on the top of protrusions1250 and at the bottom of recesses 1260 as well as the sides ofprotrusions 1250. A third polysilicon layer “poly 3” 1330 is depositedover ONO layer 1310. “Poly 3” 1330 is deposited as a blanket layer thatextends into recesses 1260 and covers protrusions 1250 conforming to theONO layer. Tungsten Silicide (WSi) layer “WSi” 1340 is formed over “poly3” 1330. WSi may be deposited or may be formed by depositing tungstenover “poly ” 1330 and then annealing to form WSi. Cobalt or anotherrefractory metal may also be used in place of tungsten. WSi layer 1340is deposited as a blanket layer covering “poly 3” 1330. Subsequently,WSi 1340, “poly 3” 1330, ONO 1310 and poly strip 1120 are patterned andetched together.

FIG. 14 shows WSi 1340, “poly 3” 1330, ONO 1310 and poly strip 1120after etching. A word line mask is used to establish the etch pattern. Aword line mask provides alternating masked and unmasked strips that runin the word line direction (perpendicular to STI regions 1010). The maskused may be the same as that used to form protrusions 1250. However, theposition of the mask is shifted relative to the position used to formprotrusions 1250 so that the etched regions 1440 are not aligned withprotrusions 1250. Instead, the position of the mask is shifted byapproximately half the width of protrusions 1250 so that an etchedregion 1440 includes a portion of projection 1250 and a portion of arecess 1260. A series of word lines 1050 is formed by this etching step.Under a word line 1050 is a floating gate 1030. The interface betweenthe word line and the floating gate has a vertical interface portion1449. This increases the surface area that electrically couples the wordline to the floating gate. This also provides shielding between adjacentfloating gates because a portion of the control gate is interposedbetween adjacent floating gates. Source/drain regions 1460 may be formedby implanting impurities between word lines 1050. Thus, word lines 1050form a mask and the source/drain regions are self-aligned to the wordlines.

The process described with respect to FIGS. 11-14 is not completelyself-aligned. Word lines 1050 are self-aligned to floating gates 1030because they are formed by the same etching step. However, an alignmentstep is used to align the word line mask that defines word lines 1050 toprotrusions 1250 and recesses 1260 so that the floating gates that areformed have portions of both protrusions 1250 and recesses 1260.However, precise alignment is not required for this structure. As longas a portion of protrusion 1250 and a portion of recess 1260 areincorporated in a floating gate, an improved structure will result.Misalignment of the order of half the width of protrusions 1250 (20 nm)could result in a floating gate that has no portion of recess 1260 or noportion of protrusion 1250 and thus no vertical surface 1449. However,misalignment of a smaller magnitude may occur without seriouslyaffecting the interface between word line 1050 and floating gate1030.,The memory cell formed according to this process may have a sizeof 4F2 where F is the minimum feature size and both word lines 1050 andSTI regions 1010 are formed with a width of F.

The above description details particular embodiments of the inventionand describes embodiments of the invention using particular arrayarchitecture. However, the invention is not limited to the embodimentsdisclosed or to the particular architecture used in the examples given.It will be understood that the invention is entitled to protectionwithin the full scope of the appended claims.

1. A method of forming an array of non-volatile memory cells on asemiconductor substrate surface, comprising: forming a plurality ofshallow trench isolation structures spaced apart across the surface of asubstrate in a first direction and extending in a second direction,individual shallow trench isolation structures having sidewalls thatextend vertically from the substrate surface; forming a plurality offloating gate structures, individual floating gate structures extendingbetween a first sidewall of a first shallow trench isolation structureand a second sidewall of a second shallow trench isolation structure andbeing bounded in a first direction by the first and second sidewalls;and shaping the plurality of floating gate structures to reduce thewidth in a second direction of an upper part of individual ones of theplurality of floating gate structures.
 2. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising forming a first plurality of masking portions extending in afirst direction by the same step used to form the plurality of floatinggates, the first plurality of masking portions extending over shallowtrench isolation structures and over floating gate structures.
 3. Themethod of claim 2 further comprising forming a second plurality ofmasking portions having sidewalls in contact with ones of the firstplurality of masking portions and subsequently removing the firstplurality of masking portions.
 4. The method of claim 3 furthercomprising forming a plurality of sidewall spacers that are in contactwith the sidewalls of the second plurality of masking portions and thatextend over portions of the floating gate structures.
 5. The method ofclaim 4 further comprising forming a third plurality of maskingelements, an individual one of the third plurality of masking elementsextending between ones of the plurality of sidewall spacers on afloating gate structure and subsequently removing the plurality ofsidewall spacers.
 6. The method of claim 5 wherein shaping the pluralityof floating gate structures comprises etching the floating gatestructures with the plurality of masking elements in place.
 7. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising forming a plurality of controlgates that overlie the plurality of floating gate structures.
 8. Themethod of claim 7 wherein a control gate extends on either side of ashaped floating gate structure in the second direction.
 9. The method ofclaim 7 wherein a control gate extends on one side of a shaped floatinggate structure in the second direction.
 10. The method of claim 7wherein a control gate extends to enclose the upper part of a floatinggate structure on three or four sides and from above.
 11. A method offorming an array of non-volatile memory cells on a semiconductorsubstrate surface, comprising: forming a plurality of structures havingsidewalls that extend from the substrate surface; forming a plurality ofconductive strips, an individual conductive strip extending between afirst sidewall and a second sidewall of the plurality of structureshaving sidewalls, an individual conductive strip bounded by the firstand second sidewalls; forming a plurality of separate floating gatestructures by removing portions of the plurality of conductive strips,removed portions extending from a first sidewall to a second sidewall;then forming a plurality of masking elements, an individual maskingelement covering a portion of one of the plurality of floating gatestructures; and then etching the plurality of floating gate structuresto remove portions of the floating gate structures that are not coveredby masking elements.
 12. The method of claim 11 further comprisingetching back the plurality of structures having sidewalls prior toforming a plurality of masking elements.
 13. The method of claim 11wherein the individual masking element extends over part of an uppersurface and part of two side surfaces of the one of the plurality offloating gate structures.
 14. The method of claim 11 wherein anindividual floating gate structure has an upper surface and a lowersurface that are parallel to the substrate surface, the removed portionsextending from the upper surface to a level that is between the uppersurface and the lower surface.
 15. A method of forming an array ofnon-volatile memory cells on a semiconductor substrate surface,comprising: forming a first plurality of conductive strips that areseparated in a first direction, that extend across the substrate surfacein a second direction and that have protrusions extending in a directionaway from the substrate surface with recesses between protrusions;forming a dielectric layer overlying the first plurality of conductivestrips; forming a conductive layer over the dielectric layer; andetching portions of the conductive layer and the first plurality ofconductive strips in the same pattern to form a second plurality ofconductive strips from the conductive layer, the second plurality ofconductive strips extending in a first direction, and to form aplurality of floating gates from the first plurality of conductivestrips, an individual floating gate having at least a portion of aprotrusion and at least a portion of a recess, an individual conductivestrip overlying the at least a portion of a protrusion and the at leasta portion of a recess of a floating gate.
 16. The method of claim 15wherein a portion of the individual conductive strip extends into the atleast a portion of a recess of a floating gate.
 17. The method of claim15 wherein the at least a portion of a protrusion has a surface thatextends along a first plane that is perpendicular to the substratesurface, the individual conductive strip has a surface that extendsalong a plane that is parallel to the first plane and is separated fromthe first plane by the dielectric layer.
 18. The method of claim 15wherein etching removes half of a protrusion and half of a recess.
 19. Afloating gate memory cell on a substrate surface, comprising: a floatinggate having a first floating gate portion and a second floating gateportion; the first floating gate portion bounded by a first shallowtrench isolation structure and a second shallow trench isolationstructure in a first direction and extending between a first side and asecond side in a second direction that is perpendicular to the firstdirection; the first floating gate portion having a lower surface thatextends across the substrate surface and an upper surface parallel tothe lower surface, the upper surface bounded in the second direction bya first edge and a second edge; and the second floating gate portionextending from the upper surface of the first floating gate portion, thesecond floating gate portion extending equally with the first floatinggate portion in the first direction and having a first surface thatextends from the first edge of the upper surface and a second surfacethat extends from a line on the upper surface that is between the firstedge and the second edge.
 20. The memory cell of claim 19 furthercomprising a conductive gate that overlies the floating gate, theconductive gate having a first side that is coplanar with the firstsurface of the second floating gate portion and a second side that iscoplanar with the second side of the first floating gate portion. 21.The memory cell of claim 20 wherein the second floating gate portioncovers a part of the upper surface of the first floating gate portionand leaves a part of the upper surface uncovered and the conductive gateoverlies both the second floating gate portion and the uncovered part ofthe upper surface.
 22. The memory cell of claim 20 wherein the controlgate has a surface that extends across the second surface of the secondfloating gate portion.